Pasta with Creamy Bacon and Pea Sauce

Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1 pound small shaped pasta
- 1 to 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 to 2 tbsp butter
- 10 slices bacon or pancetta, cut into short, thin slices
- 2 cups frozen peas
- 2 heaping tbsp creme fraiche
-- salt and pepper
- juice of 1 lemon
- 6 oz. Parmesan cheese
- Fried (no oil just heat in frying pan) or boiled (10 min) sausage on the side

Instructions:
This is another recipe with a really simple sauce, so before you start any really cooking you want to bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and drop your pasta. Make sure to reserve a cup or so of the cooking water.

In a large, high-sided pan, melt the butter and olive oil together over medium heat. Toss the pancetta into the pan with some pepper and cook until crispy and golden brown, about five minutes. Add the peas to the pan, stirring to combine. Give the peas a minute or two to defrost, then add the creme friache. Stir until the creme friache has coated everything nicely. Season with salt and pepper.

Drain the pasta and add it directly to the sauce pan. Pour the lemon juice over the pasta and stir everything to combine well, making sure the sauce coats each piece of pasta nicely. Finally, mix in the Parmesan cheese. Add some of the cooking liquid to thin out the sauce if desired (this is based totally on personal preference).

 

This is really a great recipe — something different, yet familiar. The combination of the creme friache and Parmesan made for an extra creamy sauce that wasn’t too heavy. This is a great creamy pasta dish for those who fine traditional cream sauces too heavy, and a great dish for spring and summer months. It goes great with fried or boiled sausage.